


Respite of the Heart

by Rueitae



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Fairy Tale Elements, Feelings Realization, Fluff and Humor, Love Confessions, Pre-Relationship, set during the journey back to Earth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2020-04-19
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:33:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23726878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rueitae/pseuds/Rueitae
Summary: He approaches Pidge, still sound asleep despite the squeaking of the mice. She looks so serene in the light of the forest, her soft breaths misting the coiled fist by her mouth. He hates to wake her, but they really need to get moving; the road to Earth is long. He kneels before her, setting his bayard down and taking one of her hands in his own, chuckling at how intimate and romantic this looks. It’s almost as if he were a prince waking a princess from her slumber.“Wakey wakey, Sleeping Beauty,” Lance teases. “Time to get back on the road.”Adorably, Pidge squishes her face in disgust, but does not wake. “... ‘m not a princess,” she mumbles.~~~~~A lunch stop on the way home leads to a respite for both the body and heart for Pidge and Lance.
Relationships: Lance/Pidge | Katie Holt
Comments: 16
Kudos: 70





	Respite of the Heart

**Author's Note:**

> A concept I've been wanting to write for a long time. A little canon divergent fic with some fairy tale imagery. I hope you like it! Using it to celebrate my birthday a week-ish early. 
> 
> [AnchoredTether](https://anchoredtetherart.tumblr.com/post/615787955241517056/he-approaches-pidge-still-sound-asleep-despite) drew a jawdroppingly gorgeous art for this. Thank you Ivy for indulging me in this image that I could not get out of my head. I couldn't post this fic without it. Please shower her with praise at how utterly gorgeous it is.

“Has anyone seen Pidge?” Lance asks, pivoting his head around the campsite in search of the Green Paladin.

Hunk drops a crate to the ground, full of freshly picked and flavorful ingredients for future meals. It makes a soft thud, the lush grass a thick carpet around the campsite. 

It’s the clearest spot on the planet, otherwise a congested forest. Exactly the type of place that, out of everyone in the universe, Pidge would be safe, being the guardian of the forest and all - Lance knows that. She hasn’t even been gone that long and they’ve been in no danger since landing here. But deep down, in a part of his soul where the Red Lion dwells stroking the embers of passion within him, there’s a seed of worry as well - one that the forest may love Pidge too much and entice her to stay there forever. 

Irrational, he knows. Because he never worries about the ground swallowing Hunk, or Allura sinking beneath the waves, or even Keith disappearing into the astral plane, which they actually _had_ precedent for thanks to Shiro. 

The anxiety in his gut grows the longer he can’t find Pidge, his fingers twitching in agitation for his bayard. He hadn’t felt this way half a varga ago when they were eating lunch and that only makes it _worse_. 

Hunk turns to face him, wearing his neutral face of growing curiosity, not a bead of sweat in sight from moving their replenished supplies onto the Yellow Lion. 

Lance raises an eyebrow in turn. After four years of being Hunk’s roommate at the Galaxy Garrison and an additional two (not accounting for time dilation) of being in each other’s minds through the Voltron bond, he likes to think he knows his best friend really well. 

And sometimes, like now, he has no clue. 

“What?” Lance accuses, his voice rising higher in pitch than he’d like. “We’re leaving soon and I haven’t seen Pidge since lunch.”

Hunk’s right eyebrow rises slowly. Great, now his curiosity has deepened. Lance bites the inside of his lip. So much for staying cool. 

“I didn’t ask why,” Hunk says innocently. 

It isn’t innocent. Right behind his eyes there are questions. Even Lance isn’t sure why he’s antsy about Pidge missing for a half varga. She’s perfectly capable of looking after herself. She’s been in just as many life endangering situations as the rest of them and there is literally no reason for him to be worried. 

_“I bet they all have a soft spot for the small one.”_

Maybe one reason. 

It was never good for a Paladin to be alone. 

“She took Kaltenecker out for a walk,” Keith says - approaching them from out of _nowhere_. 

Lance jumps, eyes bulging out of his sockets. He clutches his chest. “Dude, you were way over by the Black Lion, like, two tics ago. You don’t have to be a ninja all the time.”

Keith frowns. “We still don’t know how much the universe has changed since we were in the Rift, we have to be ready for anything. That’s why you’re worried about Pidge, isn’t it?”

Heat rushes to his cheeks at being seen through so easily. “I’m _not_ worried,” he says, shifting his weight and refusing to give Keith the satisfaction of eye contact right now… which is not fair to Keith, he begrudgingly admits. “Maybe I’m _mildly_ concerned, but not worried.”

“Good. Kosmo went with her. She’s fine.”

Relief settles in his heart, and the litany of self admonishments begins. He’s worked up over nothing. Kaltenecker is as intimidating as any alien animal and Kosmo can teleport her out of danger if needed. 

“Good to hear,” Shiro says as he approaches, Allura distractedly searching the ground by his side. “I think we’re about ready to head back on the road. Think you can tell Pidge? She’s not responding to her comm.”

Heart rate increasing, the words are out of his mouth before he can think otherwise. 

“Yeah, I’ll go get her!”

~~~~~~~

The forest is eerily silent. Aside from the stomp of his boots on the ground among the pink and purple flowers, there is no wildlife, only the groaning of swaying willow branches on the wind. Bright pink and teal leaves tickle his exposed skin before he gently pushes them away from his face.

The sight he beholds takes his breath away.

Sunlight peeking through the canopy shines upon Pidge, calming his anxiety over her being missing or in trouble. She lies in a bed of teal alien flowers, chestplate armor off to the side; asleep and removed from all the world. Kosmo lies at her head, perking his head up when Lance enters the clearing. It startles Plachu, knocking the poor mouse off from the peaceful nap on the wolf’s head. Kaltenecker grazes to her side with Chulatt hanging playfully off one of her horns. Chuchule rests in Pidge’s thick mess of hair, cradling the flower crown gracefully draped over the Green Paladin’s head. Platt suns himself in the grass and the trash floofs hover lazily nearby. 

The cosmic wolf deems him to be a non threat and lies back down. Yelping from a sudden push to his back, Lance turns quickly to see the yellow and blue trash floof urging him on. The space mice chatter away, playfully beckoning him to join the cuddle pile. He chuckles, at ease in the company of their animal friends. 

He approaches Pidge, still sound asleep despite the squeaking of the mice. She looks so serene in the light of the forest, her soft breaths misting the coiled fist by her mouth. He hates to wake her, but they really need to get moving; the road to Earth is long. He kneels before her, setting his bayard down and taking one of her hands in his own, chuckling at how intimate and romantic this looks. It’s almost as if he were a prince waking a princess from her slumber. 

“Wakey wakey, Sleeping Beauty,” he teases. “Time to get back on the road.”

Adorably, Pidge squishes her face in disgust, but does not wake. “... ‘m not a princess,” she mumbles. 

Lance smirks fondly. If Pidge wants to argue in her sleep, who is he to deny her? “I think the Olkari may have something to say about that. They sure treat you like one.” He smiles softly, heart bubbling with warmth. “And so would I if you’d let me. Maybe I’ll turn Red into a spa and we’ll all just have a chill day.” 

The Red Lion rumbles with mild displeasure in the back of his mind. Lance snorts as he imagines the Lion’s cargo bay morphing into a sauna, complete with the Paladins and friends relaxing all with soothing face masks caked on.

 _You’d_ love _the company_ , Lance fires back wryly. No further images come to mind as the Red Lion removes himself from the conversation. 

Pidge continues her restful slumber.

“Seriously, Pidge we have to get going. We gotta get to Earth as soon as possible,” he urges, then laughs, “Do you need a princely kiss to wake up or something?”

A figurative light bulb switches on in his brain and all humor leaves his lips. Lance loves Pidge, arguably always has since their Galaxy Garrison days, but until now, the prospect of _romantically_ loving Pidge hasn’t clicked in his mind. 

Over the last couple of years, he’s spent a lot of time trying to figure out Pidge. After fooling him with false identity for over a year, she’s firmly a person of fascination. He’s observed her genius brain in operation, trying to understand what she’s _really_ thinking behind the snark and technobabble. It’s come together slowly. Loyalty to her family is priority number one, followed by her exuberant curiosity and much bigger heart than he ever thought of her before they found the Lions. He’s watched her play with the space mice and trash floofs in such a gentle and compassionate manner in opposition of her outward emotional wall and snark, baby talked with Kaltenecker, and absentmindedly petted Kosmo every chance she got _despite_ her insistence that she was allergic. Pidge is... _mesmerizing_ no matter what she does, and Lance finds he cannot take his eyes off of her.

Pidge may be a genius, but she’s also kind and loyal and opening up to more and more people as they save each section of the universe. He’s seen her growth first hand, watching her take charge of important meetings when it's her part of the plan and how her carefully built emotional wall has come crumbling down around him and the others. Now he’s past the event horizon, mind expanding over not just a kiss but many kisses and romantic walks on the beach at sunset to show her just how beautiful and distinct they are. He inserts Pidge into romantic milestones he hopes to reach in life, marriage and children, but most of all, the more he thinks about spending each and every day with her, he _likes_ it. 

He can _see_ a life with her and the prospect of _not_ having her that close suddenly makes him feel the worst kind of _empty_. 

Because how much has _he_ grown in the last two years? He’s had to learn how to bond with a whole new Lion on the fly (literally) and suffered the first legitimate heartbreak he’s ever had. A heartbreak that is _nothing_ compared to the one Allura is going through. To have confessed to her on this trip home and offer her comfort would have been distasteful.

A shiver runs up his spine. He’s been at peace with Allura never returning his affections for a while now, but now to have romantic feelings for Pidge makes him feel like an absolute jerk. How can he possibly talk to Pidge about these feelings when he’s been so vocal about his love for Allura? She’d never believe him.

Kosmo whines, nudging his hand as if to reassure him that his feelings are valid. The mice squeak and tug on his gauntlet. Lance takes a deep breath. He’s never had such a clear vision of day to day life with anyone before, simply the idea of going on dates and sharing a kiss or three. 

He hasn’t let go of her hand, it simply rests in his lap. 

Lance doesn’t even know how she feels about _him_. 

“Ye-ouch!” he yelps. The mice chatter, tugging painfully on the hair around his ear. Chuchule bats her eyelids in a lovingly dramatic way. Heat rushes to Lance’s face. “No!” he squawks. “It’s not like that! Pidge is one of my best friends! We already hang out and do a lot of stuff together. She’s the reason I’ve been really into tech lately, now that she’s explaining everything. I…” He pauses. That list alone just doesn’t seem like enough.

“She’s so smart she terrifies me sometimes,” he admits. “But I really love that about her. It feels like a safety net, knowing she’s on my side. And then,” he continues, excitement rising as he babbles, “she gets this spark in her eyes when he figures something out, or makes a pun, or sees something she wants to know more about. I love how she preens when I tell her what an amazing person she is or what a genius she is like… like she really values my opinion.”

Not that she’d ever said so aloud. Lance’s stomach twists in knots. “What if she doesn’t.”

Pidge remains asleep.

Kaltenecker moos, a low bellow, and Lance nearly chastises her for the noise, momentarily forgetting the _point_ of him being here is to wake Pidge up. Kosmo does his part, licking her gently in the face. 

Pidge moans, still in the throngs of sleep, manages to grab the blue trash floof in her arm, dragging it to the ground like a stuffed toy. Its hair stands on end for a brief moment before settling back down. Its expressionless face makes it difficult to tell if it is in comfort, though it does not struggle.

Lance sighs in resignation. “Come on Pidge, you’re not really this deep of a sleeper are you?” _Or_ , the thought streaks across his mind like a bullet, _under some sort of alien sleep pollen_.

The animals all seem calm, which calms Lance in turn. If something were wrong, he’d trust their instincts. Platt dips the tiny Chulatt, the two of them puckering their lips dramatically.

He slumps his shoulders, resting his weight on his heels. Pidge’s hand is still in his lap. 

Space magic exists, so why not try a little fairy tale logic? A kiss from one friend to another. 

He rises to one knees and as he leans forward, lifts the back of her gauntlet to his lips. In the moment after he closes his eyes, places a soft, swift kiss on her knuckles. 

“L-Lance?”

Quiznak. 

He opens his eyes with lips hovering just above her hand. Space magic or no, it worked. Pidge is awake, brilliant brown eyes wide and mouth agape. For the first time since Lance has known her, Pidge looks like she wishes to say something but isn’t able to form the words.

Suddenly, Lance wishes that Pidge remained _asleep_.

He drops her hand and scrambles backwards, far enough out of her reach as she sits up in a flurry and releases the trash floof from her grip. “You’re awake!” he exclaims, chattering before she _can_ find the words to chew him out. “I’m so sorry, I thought you were under the influence of some alien sleep pollen.”

Pidge’s cheeks darken, sucking in a deep breath between the rapid up and down of her chest. She grabs hold of the hand he’d just kissed, looking back and forth between him and it. “Did you just…?”

“Yes,” he says immediately, because Pidge will find the truth whether she wants to or not and the guilt of hiding something like this from her would eat him alive. “I-I thought it would wake you up.” He gulps. “Which it did.”

“You just… _thought_ of _kissing_ _me_ to wake me up?” Pidge squeaks. 

Oh quiznak, he’s _broken_ Pidge. 

“Like Sleeping Beauty, you know?” he says, trying to laugh it off. “I mean, you’ve even got a crown!” Pidge looks upwards and places a tentative hand on the crown, as if feeling that it's there for the first time. “A-and since space magic is a thing and you were sleeping and beautiful it made sense at the time?” he finishes with a question. 

He screams internally at how stupid that sounds and at how he literally just told Pidge she was beautiful.

Pidge’s face turns as red as the Lion he flies and her eyes flash back to him. “ _What?”_

“I’m so sorry!” he says frantically, going so far as to bow to express how utterly apologetic he is. “I’m an idiot, I know, and this is probably one of the dumbest things I’ve ever done,”

“Lance.”

“I mean, you were sleeping, totally fine! None of the animals were freaking out, I should have just shaken your shoulder or something.”

“Lance…”

“Please don’t kill me.”

“I’m not going to kill you, Lance.”

He looks up finally. Pidge is sitting up, legs crossed and hands planted firmly around her ankles, adorably as she was prone to do when flustered. Her expression keeps him guessing what her thoughts truly are - still - but she’s not murderous at least. 

“Honestly it's… sweet,” she confesses, looking up towards the canopy, her cheeks flushed still. “I like it when you think outside the box. It’s cute.”

Lance waits a full five seconds before following up. “You think it’s… cute?” 

“And highly advantageous to the team, actually,” Pidge continues matter of factly. “We’ve encountered a lot of weird stuff out in space that doesn’t always follow the known laws of the universe.” Her mouth twitches neutrally, tone more reflective, “I’ve... had to learn that not everything works logically.”

Lance breathes a sigh of relief, but it’s his turn to blush as he looks her way. “So you don’t mind a little goofing off?”

“Don’t mind?” Pidge exclaims, jerking her head upward, as if she’s been thrown for a loop - another rare face. “Lance, that’s half the reason I like you. You do remember I was the one who dragged you to fish coins from out of a space mall water fountain, right? I _love_ that kind of stuff.” 

Lance isn’t sure if he misshears, but Pidge’s voice inflects higher when she says the word ‘love’. Perhaps he isn’t as off the mark as he thinks. 

“That’s good,” Lance says firmly. “Because I love those times too. A-and I want to make sure we spend a lot more time together too,” he squeaks, finding the purple flower by his hand very interesting all of a sudden. “Playing video games and doing crazy stuff. You know, when we’re not forming Voltron’s sword and all.”

Pidge gapes, locking eyes with him for just a moment. “Y-you do?” She clears her throat before looking back at the flowers that surround her. “I like you hanging out with me and Hunk when we’re working on stuff.”

“So do I,” Lance admits, because he does love being with his two best friends. The next part is out of his mouth before he can worry about being too forward and this being too soon. “But I mean it would be nice to have some time with just you and me. Maybe I can jet over to Green for a little bit of Killbot sometime? Or do something fun when we get back to Earth. I want you to see the sunset over Varadero Beach.” He grins. “I guarantee it's one in a billion.”

Because while he isn’t sure if these feelings for Pidge are real, he wants to find out.

“Wait,” Pidge says flatly. “Just to clarify and make sure I’m not still taking a nap - are you… asking me on a date?”

“Unless you’d rather not, but I wouldn’t mind calling it that,” Lance says, her body language opening up enough to make him smile, feeling more confident. Then his face suddenly falls as he realizes, “wait, you were dreaming of me asking you out?”

Pidge inhales sharply and Lance can feel her defensive emotional walls shoot up. He stiffens, bracing for rejection. He’s really messed up now. 

Yet, as she stalls, stammering uncharacteristically for her, he considers making this less awkward than he’s sure it is for her. 

“I’d like that,” she says before he can give her an out.

It’s his turn to drop his jaw. “Y-you would?” 

Pidge nods. “I don’t really know what brought this on, but I’ve been trying to figure out how to ask you to spend more time with _me_. I…” she gulps, looking as embarrassed as he’s ever seen her, “didn’t want to get in the middle of anything. I’m… not exactly the classic vision of beauty you seem to look for.” She pokes the flower crown again, plucking off one of the petals and examining it, avoiding his gaze.

Lance gets it. In between the lines he sees the painful story that’s been going on under his nose. Katie Pidge I-Broke-Into-The-Garrison-Like-It-Was-Nothing Holt, liked him in a way that made her amicable to want to go on a date with him. As far as he could tell, she did not just arrive at this revelation like he had. She’d thought about it - thought about it enough to consider that he was crushing on Allura and not her. 

He feels blinded to how she was feeling all these years, like he’d just taken a kick to the gut. 

This isn’t the time to dwell on it. Lance doesn’t want to miss his chance by botching this initial connection. Never has a girl ever reciprocated his feelings… although in this case he supposes he reciprocates _Pidge’s_ feelings. 

“I think you’re really pretty, Pidge,” he says honestly, though he almost doesn’t believe he says it. “Even without the flower crown - which also looks pretty on you!” he amends before his words can be taken otherwise.

Pidge blushes. “Um… t-thanks.” It’s not often Pidge sounds so unsure, but in this moment of peace and security, not fighting for their lives, she’s adorable. 

At her feet, Chuchule squeaks indignantly, hands on her little hips. Pidge chuckles. “I guess I have you guys to thank for the flower crown? I was wondering what you guys were doing while I was sleeping.”

“It was on you when I got here,” Lance supplies. “It really does look good on you.”

Her gaze softens as she goes quiet for a moment.“I promised no more secrets, right?” she says after a deep breath, averting her eyes. “The truth is,” she looks at him once more, “I’ve had a little bit of a crush on you since we were a team at the Garrison.” Now, with her hunched over and defeated looking figure, it is Pidge who now braces for rejection. 

Lance sighs. His first instinct is to apologize more, but that won’t get them anywhere at this point. “No more secrets,” he agrees. “I was freaking out before I knew you were just here taking a nap. My mind keeps going back to what happened in that cell,” Pidge stiffens, “and I know you can take care of yourself but I _want_ to protect you. When I saw you sleeping there, I started thinking about all of the good times we have together and how much I love it when you talk genius and your awesome koala hugs and how much I really want you to stay in my life.

“So my feelings might not be exactly like yours, I don’t know, but,” he meets her gaze, “I want to find out if it can grow.”

Pidge metaphorically melts, body slumping over at the weight of his words. She gives him a small smile. “I do too.” Absentmindedly scratching her head, she continues with a flushed face, “You’ve always worked to include me and be my friend. You’re carefree but also really hard working. I just like being around you, kinda like a moth to a flame,” she shrugs helplessly.

Lance beams. “Great! That’s great!” he blabs a pitch higher than he means. “A hot flame I hope?”

He realizes how utterly stupid that sounds and internally smacks himself. 

To his relief, Pidge just laughs, holding her tummy as if it will stabilize her. “At the risk of stroking your ego, yes, hot enough.” 

His ears burn hotter than after a full day on the beach under the scorching sun with no suntan lotion. All of his bluster deflates with the affirmation that Pidge likes the whole package. 

Oh dear quiznak. They’d shared a locker room both at the Garrison and on the Castle. She’s _seen_ the whole package.

“T-thanks,” he squeaks.

Pidge chuckles curtly and affectionately, letting her arms flop in front of her. “You’re cute, Lance. And not in an ugly kind of way. But most of all, I’m glad you’re my friend and… maybe also something in addition to it.”

He matches her relaxed grin, relieved and excited about the near future for the first time in a while. Standing, he makes his way back over to Pidge and takes her hands as he sits back down beside her. “You’re cute too, Pidge,” he says, leaning forward with an arm draped over his knee. “In a very pretty kind of way.”

Pidge closes the gap between them for a quick peck on his cheek. “Thanks,” she says softly as she sits back on her knees. “I couldn’t have dreamed a better wake up call.” 

“When we get back to Earth, I’ll take you to the beach,” Lance promises as he stretches a hand out for her to take.

Pidge smirks in a way that makes his heart bubble with excitement. “It’s a date,” she confirms, taking his hand. “And you won’t need alien sleep pollen as an excuse to kiss me.” 

Pulling, he uses the balance to help the both of them to their feet. Then he steals a kiss from her cheek. “Just like that?”

Color returns to Pidge’s cheeks. “Y-yeah. Just like that.”

He smirks, pleased with himself. Feeling more extra than usual, he bows grandly before her. “May I hold the lady’s crown of flowers for her then?”

Pidge hums, considering. “Naw, I think I’ll keep them on.” She looks him directly in the eye, affection apparent and he knows she keeps it on because he likes it on her. “My allergies will kill me later, but the aesthetic is worth it.”

She humors him though, looping her arm into his. He does, however, insist on carrying her waylaid armor.

Maybe he isn’t exactly a prince, but escorting the Green Lion’s guardian of the forest back to camp he sure feels like it. And so long as they can end this war and free the universe, he’s on track for a fairytale ending.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [Tumblr](https://rueitae.tumblr.com/). Please let me know what you liked about it! I'm anxious to hear!


End file.
